Jays 2007 Build Thread

[f5000sl]

Hi all, my name is Jay and I picked up the 2007 4Runner from a local dealership back in March.
It's my first Toyota and my 2nd attempt at making a reasonable light-duty off-road/camping rig that can also haul my mountain bikes and gear when its not playing work truck.

I've been learning a lot from the site, sometimes its a little info overload. LOL
Splitting hairs on many topics definitely can slow the build process, and, well, a new job that requires me to invest in gear & tools for the trade.

The truck has been great so far, no leaks, etc. The history for the T4R is pretty complete with a lot of work being done at two local Toyota dealerships around town. Nothing really ever more than scheduled care. Fuel mileage has been about 17.5 around town, 19 on the hwy loaded down with bikes and crap.

1st photo is from the day I purchased it.
2nd photo is after the headlights installed.
3rd is from last week after I purchased some 17" Pro Comp 5001s wrapped in Falken WildPeak 265/70-17s.

Even though the old tires where also 265/70-17s, the new tires have some major rubbing up front.

I measured the wheel gaps and the front is badly drooped. It's 2.5" lower on both sides vs the rear.

My attempt to fix this is an OME 2.5" lift kit that I just ordered today.
If I still get rub, I'll end up doing the body mount mod.

Between the wheels, tires, and lift, I'm tapped on funds for the rig outside of some little stuff until at least next year.

I'm looking forward to this truck taking my wife and I around up & down the East coast and maybe a West Coast trip as early as Oct/Nov.

I'd like to work on getting a rack setup and at least a front receiver that I can use for a 2nd bike rack and/or a recovery point.

Short Backstory: My first attempt was a '92 GMC Jimmy SLT that has served me well for the last 18 years, but in order to even use 31" tires with a 2.5" left, you still need to cut fenders & body. Plus, while the interior was nice with leather and power everything, the overall interior capacity was little small for my mountain bikes and gear.

 

[luke87gt]

Looks good, few things:

I agree with the decision to lift it. I have the same 265/70/17 Falkens and even with the 2.5/1.5 Daystar, I still had to do some minor clearancing up front to get things to clear. Do a search for the front clearancing on this forum. It's pretty easy to do. I am also running a pretty aggressive offset which doesn't help - 17x8.5 -10mm offset.

What headlights are those and how much did they cost?

 

[f5000sl]

Looks good, few things:

I agree with the decision to lift it. I have the same 265/70/17 Falkens and even with the 2.5/1.5 Daystar, I still had to do some minor clearancing up front to get things to clear. Do a search for the front clearancing on this forum. It's pretty easy to do. I am also running a pretty aggressive offset which doesn't help - 17x8.5 -10mm offset.

What headlights are those and how much did they cost?

Thx for the tips. I'm running 8" wide wheels, a 4.5" BS and while I hope the lift helps with the rubbing, I'm already looking for someone local to weld in the pieces so I can make the front body mount trim mod. Plus, I'll use the heatgun method to reshape the inner fender wells.

As for the headlamps, I picked them up from ebay by DT_MOTO. DOT approved, shipped for $180 back in March.

Install was easy, quality was a lot better than I expected for under $200 for a pair of lights. I did have to mod 1 bulb because the opening was off, which was weird because all of the others fit perfectly.

 

[f5000sl]

Old Man Emu Lift Installed

It's taken a few weeks, but I've managed to get my 2.5" OLD MAN EMU lift kit installed.

I went with the OME 884 (mild) front springs and medium rears.
I did opt for the front driverside leveling shim.

It's my 1st time doing a truck suspension and I was surprised how easy it was!

A few notes:
- I didn't have to bend the inner fender wells to get out the 3rd top strut bolt. Armed with a ratcheting wrench, I easily accessed the out of sight nut.
- I ended up not installing the diff. drop yet.
I'm not getting any weird noise from the axles and I've read so many mixed reviews. If anyone has any 411 on this subject, please feel free to chime in on it.
-As Luke noted, I still have some rub issues on the frame by the body mount even with the lift. (Although I only notice this really when backing up.)
- I've noticed about a 2mpg drop in my mileage. I was consistently getting about 400 miles per tank and now I'm getting about 350 on all highway stints.

The ride quality is really nice. Firm enough to make highway driving nice, but soft enough to smooth out holes, bumps and debris.

I'll be doing my 1st off-road use this upcoming weekend, while mostly fireroad, I'll be looking to test out the system a if the opportunity comes up.
Here's a photo of my newly lifted T4R.

 

[camp332]

It's taken a few weeks, but I've managed to get my 2.5" OLD MAN EMU lift kit installed.

I went with the OME 884 (mild) front springs and medium rears.
I did opt for the front driverside leveling shim.

It's my 1st time doing a truck suspension and I was surprised how easy it was!

A few notes:
- I didn't have to bend the inner fender wells to get out the 3rd top strut bolt. Armed with a ratcheting wrench, I easily accessed the out of sight nut.
- I ended up not installing the diff. drop yet.
I'm not getting any weird noise from the axles and I've read so many mixed reviews. If anyone has any 411 on this subject, please feel free to chime in on it.
-As Luke noted, I still have some rub issues on the frame by the body mount even with the lift. (Although I only notice this really when backing up.)
- I've noticed about a 2mpg drop in my mileage. I was consistently getting about 400 miles per tank and now I'm getting about 350 on all highway stints.

The ride quality is really nice. Firm enough to make highway driving nice, but soft enough to smooth out holes, bumps and debris.

I'll be doing my 1st off-road use this upcoming weekend, while mostly fireroad, I'll be looking to test out the system a if the opportunity comes up.
Here's a photo of my newly lifted T4R.

Looks awesome!

Where did you source the OME lift from? I'm on spacers, and definitely want to go with something different in the future.

 

[f5000sl]

I ended up calling Toytec.
I've been working on cars for years, but I'm unfamiliar with T4R's and all of the after market stuff. Even after reading posts for months on end, I was unsure of the exact kit I wanted.

I had it narrowed down to Bilstiens 5100's with OME or Toytec springs and OME kits. The folks at Toytec asked all the right questions and helped me come up with what works for today and can be expanded on tomorrow. At the end of the day, I wanted a kit that was designed to work together in terms of ride quality and performance, which is why I went with all OME and didn't go with the Toytec SuperFlex springs.

 

[camp332]

I ended up calling Toytec.
I've been working on cars for years, but I'm unfamiliar with T4R's and all of the after market stuff. Even after reading posts for months on end, I was unsure of the exact kit I wanted.

I had it narrowed down to Bilstiens 5100's with OME or Toytec springs and OME kits. The folks at Toytec asked all the right questions and helped me come up with what works for today and can be expanded on tomorrow. At the end of the day, I wanted a kit that was designed to work together in terms of ride quality and performance, which is why I went with all OME and didn't go with the Toytec SuperFlex springs.

Sounds good! Can I ask you for the full list of model/part numbers you purchased for the lift? (sorry for the all the questions, but I have the same sized tires, and like the amount of lift you got)

 

[f5000sl]

A few folks have been asking about the lift kit specifics, so here is what I have installed.

I purchased a Full OME kit: 895-ASB fully assembled. ( I can do it myself, but including the parts needed (top caps, bumpers, etc, it's like $20 for the labor verses buying the parts online somewhere else and I didn't have to mess with anything!)

2 x OME 884 front coils
2 x OME 9000 sport shocks
1 x 95PF5 Trim packer

TMP-695THB87A Top Mounting Plates (4Runner 03-11/FJ 07-11/Taco 05+)
2x 659THB87A top mount
2x 00447 Upper Bushing
2x 00409 Upper Washer
2x 00488 Lower washer

2x OME 895 rear coils
2x OME 60004 Rear shocks

Tac-DR-05 Diff Drop
2x Main Diff drop spacers
2x 6"x1/2" bolts
2x 1/2" nuts
2x 1/2" washers
4x 8mmx40mm bolts
4x 5/16 flat and lock washers
4x skidplate spacers
1x Instruction sheet

Original price was like $11xx.xx, but They will ask you if you're a member of Tacoworld (I think), just say "yes" some $. My final price kit, assembled, and delivered was $1008.xx.

I had the kit in < 1 week.

I love the ride, overall very smooth. Be aware that raising the truck does create some bump sensitivity on the highway that creates some wandering. Apparently fixed with upper control arms with more caster. Not horrible, but noticeable at times.

Also, I've read so many different opinions on the diff-drop, that I still haven't installed it.
I don't hear any popping of the CV joints and they don't look to be over angled too much, so I left it alone for now.